EAPSI: Improving models of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by mapping soil moisture variability with near-surface geophysics

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Greenhouse gasses, such as methane are emitted from agricultural, fields at varying rates, based in part on the soil water content (SWC) of the fields. A map of the variability in SWC can be used as an input for climate models, improving our understanding of how agricultural activity affects the atmosphere. This research will use near-surface geophysical methods to detect changes in the amount of water present in the subsurface of agricultural fields. The proposed project will take place at Queensland University of Technology in collaboration with Dr. Remke Van Dam. The project will take advantage of the ongoing research that has been done in this area by the Healthy Ecosystems and Environmental Monitoring (HEEM) team at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Collaboration with supporting hydrologic and environmental research will help advance both this project and the existing projects.GHG emissions, which have important implications for climate change, have been shown to be affected by variability in SWC, but traditional methods of determining SWC such as TDR do not easily cover the field scale or larger scales. The GPR ground wave, which travels from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna through the very shallow subsurface, provides a way to, relatively quickly; create a field-scale map of the SWC variations at a field site. The resulting map can be used as an input for models of GHG emissions, allowing for upscaling of point measurements to the field scale. GPR reflection surveys will be carried out at field sites with ongoing GHG emission research projects. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Science.